MaouMuji Chapter 13

This chapter was delayed was because I needed to compare the WN and the LN version because the way the WN version was written was just REALLY confusing. It was absolutely not because I couldn’t stop procrastinating and had to translate at the last-minute okay!

Anyway, because of that, I gained even more appreciation for editors and punctuation marks. Punctuation marks BANZAI! Editors banzai!

Chapter 13: That time when we hunted monsters for the first time

Today is the day for subjugation training. Because of that, we had to bring our own lunch so my mother said, “The ingredients don’t have to be that good so dried meat in brown bread is more than enough”, while making me receive such a menu. A sandwich or an onigiri would have been fine but neither wrapping nor containers for those exist. At best, we would just wrap it in a large leaf and just put it inside a cloth bag, a leather bag or a wooden box. I really miss those plastic wraps.

The sandwich would get ruined if we put it inside of those containers. I’m not sure about rice but buckwheat actually exists in this world. However, it’s just milled and used to make crepe, galette or porridge. Pizzoccheri is delicious but I want to eat the type of soba noodles served with sauce.

It’s been two weeks since I gave Suzuran the suzuran hairclip and the days where she overslept decreased but she already overslept 2~3 times after the first week. She also overslept again today. What happened to the girl who was given a hair ornament and was able to get up early the next day? {TN: I’ll just assume for now that a week in this world consists of 7 days}

「Good morning. I came to wake her up again」 「Again, sorry for bothering youー」

I did the usual greeting and went through the usual steps of waking her up. Did she put the hair pin inside an accessory case? I can’t see it anywhere.

「Are you doing something else besides the subjugation training today? You’ll be taking on goblins so I think it will be easy but be careful okayー」 「I think it will be fine since there is a teacher leading us but I’m worried that I might hesitate to defeat them since I have a classmate who is a goblin demonkin. I’m on good terms with that guy」 「The hell are you talking about? Goblin monster are wearing nothing but ragged underwear, can’t really use their own weapons, dumb and acts a bit crazy so wouldn’t you be able to tell? Because of that, you don’t have to worry and just bash their brains in」 「Well, I’ll try defeating them after hearing that」

With that, I received some encouragement from Ichii-san.

「Oh yeah, that girl started minding her appearance ever since you gave her that hair ornament. That made me really happy. Thanks」 「No, well…a lot of things happened and that was just returning the favor」

He responded with such a frightening glare that anybody who saw that wouldn’t even dare to speak.

「So? What weapon are you going to use?」He said that while still a bit grumpy. 「It leaning by the entryway. It’s a shovel and crowbar as well as a small knife」

He had a serious look as I was saying that but he suddenly burst out laughing. Let me say this first, that tool greatly flourished during the second world war. It’s still a versatile weapon right now even though that was from my previous life.

「And what did Hail say to you?」 「Well, he just told me to do my best. Just that…」 「As expected」

It turned into a really complex argument but it seems like nobody has used a shovel as a weapon in this world. While we were having that trivial argument, Suzuran arrived. Her hair is no longer disheveled and the hair clip was attached.

「Let’s go」

She said something that short but I would have liked it if she wasn’t late and she said that line when she arrived at our meeting place.

◇

We arrived at school. Even though I just arrived, why are they pestering my with a lot of questions! They kept asking me, “Why did you pick a shovel?”, and stuff like that. Athough there were also some laughter coming from the girls’ group, Granaade-san the cyclops was especially loud about it and kept on laughing in a manly way. Just wait and see! I’ll show you how capable this shovel can be.

Moore-sensei was also dumbstruck when he came into the classroom. Then, somebody finally asked the question, “Are your enemies the stuff in the fields?”, and the classroom once again burst into laughter.

「If you walk along the highway connecting the town and the village, you’d reach the mid-point in around 3 hours. Subjugations get troublesome around that area but even so, if we leave it alone, the number of monsters would just increase. Monsters ranging from strong bears to weak goblins appear in that area. You can sometimes also find monsters who can use magic but those are extremely rare so it’s not really a threat. We also have a slightly larger amount of recovery potions on hand you can be relieved. In addition to that, there is also a conveniently placed resting area that has a good overall visibility to we won’t have to worry about surprise attacks. Although, it would still be better if we exercise a certain degree of caution until we get there. With that, the explanation is over. Raise your hand if you have any of questions. If there aren’t any then we’ll be setting off. Our goal for today is for everyone to get a turn to fight」

Does he mean everyone in class?

Most of us are in everyday clothing but there are some who have leather protecting parts of their body and some who have light armor fully equipped. Well, I guess that’s fine since they didn’t really say anything in particular. You should always be prepared but I wasn’t able to do that because I only filled my head with ways to attack. And also because I didn’t fit my father’s equipment. I’m just wearing my usual hemp shirt and pants today.

「Well then, our vanguard will be……Schinken, you do it since you’ve got good eyes. Behind you would be Speck since you have a good nose. It’s fine if someone could do all of those things alone but you shouldn’t forget that sharing roles isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ll be at the end so call me if something happens. Move out. 」

The the things I put in my leather rucksack are as follows: a worn-out blanket, a bento, a needle and some thread, hemp cord, a water pouch, salt, sugar and an apple. I placed the crowbar at the left side of my hips and I’m just holding the shovel in my hands as I walk so that I can immediately use it when needed.

The blanket is intended to be used during short and long breaks. The needle and thread that I got from some sort of sewing set will be used as first aid just in case somebody gets a severe cut that needs to be stitched. As for the water, salt, sugar and apple, those will be used for replenishing lost fluids so that I won’t get dehydrated.

By the way, I still haven’t told anyone that I have learned recovery magic. There’s a possibility that they would bring an injured person to me if I tell them even though I’m still anxious about using it since still haven’t tried healing serious injuries. I think it would be better if I test this out a few more times before I use it on somebody else. The only other person who can use recovery magic in the village is that shabby* clinic doctor who is a bit knowledgeable in pharmaceutics.

Incidentally, I didn’t know how to answer when I was asked why I was carrying so much luggage so I just vaguely replied something like, “I have my reasons”.

「We’re already half way until the resting area so we should take a break soon.」

With that said, I held some salt and sugar into my mouth then pour in some water. Then, I lay out my worn-out blanket on top of the grass and I placed my rucksack so I could elevate my legs as I lie down.

「Caam. Your way of taking a break isn’t exactly wrong but, aren’t you overdoing it a bit?」

Sensei who was still being vigilant reprimanded me but isn’t it important to rest when it’s time to rest?

Thirty minutes after our break ended, we were walking on a path that’s surrounded by a lot of tall grass when Speck suddenly raised his shield and held up his hand above his head with *four of his fingers stretched out. The vanguard Schinken crouched down behind Speck and prepared to draw his bow. Both of them didn’t have their usual atmosphere this time so it’s probably serious. When they saw that, everyone started to be on alert. The magician team gathered together and sensei drew his sword from the sheath. {TN: Why only four? Does this mean that Speck doesn’t have a dew claw?}

The moment that Schinken’s arrow was fired at the patch of grass, a short shriek was heard and three ugly, adult-looking monsters that were around 1 meter tall came out. The goblins have appeared.

From 20 meters away, the goblins charged at us in full strength with their short legs. The shield holders immediately thrust out their swords and spears. Although the goblins’ weapons were just crudely made wooden sticks, they were significantly thick so I thought that it would show its effectiveness just by swinging it because of its size. I was also preparing my shovel while observing the state of the shield group but they just quickly repelled the attacks with their shields then slash or stab them. Because of that, the battle immediately ended. I felt like it ended too quickly but at least no one was hurt.

「Good job you guys, especially Speck and Schinken. There are no problems when it comes to your ability as scouts. It was also good judgment for the shield holders to immediately come to the front. Goblins are relatively weak but there are some that acquire adventurer’s equipment so you shouldn’t make light of them. It won’t be long until we reach the rest area so don’t lose your focus until then」

Everyone in the subjugation group sharpened their senses after that. Even though I just finished preparing my weapon, not needing to fighting is definitely wonderful, isn’t it? Since I’m a former Japanese person, shouldn’t it be expected that I want to spend time peacefully if I can?

◇

We wanted to commence the raid all at once when we arrived at the resting area that looks like a slightly larger square gazebo but we had to change plans since there was only an hour left before noon.

「After placing your luggage here, everyone should group themselves in pairs or with three people so that we can go and investigate the area. If possible, the shield users should team up with those from the rear of the formation. If there are no longer any shield users available then you can pair up with the vanguards as well. 」 When she heard that, Suzuran immediately came towards me but she was called out.「Suzuran, you’re part of the vanguard so you shouldn’t immediately pair up with Caam since he’s also considered as a vanguard because he doesn’t have a shield」She became depressed when she heard that. 「Even if that’s the case, we can still eat our lunch together so don’t feel sad」She was delighted when I said that so I’m glad I was able to cheer her up.

So with that, I was grouped with Kuchinashi-san who has a shield equipped. This was primarily because I could also use magic. Where did that sensei who said, “He doesn’t have a shield so he’s considered as a vanguard”, earlier go? Why are you missing right now!

「Well then, let’s separate ourselves from those who don’t have a group yet, okay?」

Even though she said that so casually, I felt really intimidated when I saw that large shields. Thinking about how to fight them if we actually start to face off against each other, I actually started to want to rely magic more her their body was mostly covered by the shields. She could also easily stab me with her spears if I went with close combat since her shields has a small round notch on the right side. It definitely feels like she was raised to be a vanguard.

「Since I’m going to be the rear guard, I’ll deal with attacks from behind. I’ll use magic if they come in groups」

I told her in advance how I was going to deal with enemies from behind since there are cases like this where there is no vanguards. {TN: Not really sure if this is correct}

During our 30 minutes of being vigilant, two goblins that were wandering around aimlessly appeared but both of them were single-handedly handled by Kuchinashi-san who just repelled their attacks with her shield then stabbed them. She then asked, “How about you, Caam?”, and I was put back in the vanguard position. I wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible though.

Having equipped my shovel like a spear and walking for about 5 minutes, I found a goblin whose head is sticking out from the short grass. It probably thinks that it’s hidden since it’s not moving from that spot but I can see it perfectly.

I pulled out the knife from my waist since I still haven’t shown anyone my obsidian knife. Considering that it still has its body, I decided to aim at that. It’s better to aim there rather than the head since I’m far more likely to hit because of the larger surface area. I was told by a friend from an FPS game to “not shoot if you can’t hit” so I chose to aim at that area.

As soon as I heard a short shriek after throwing the knife, I shortened our distance and I did a 90 degree full swing with my shovel aiming at the goblin’s neck and sent its head flying.

‘If you decide to do it then you shouldn’t hesitate. I’ll do my best not to die.’ , is what I said to myself so that I won’t feel bad. I had more or less prepared myself for this when I decided to reincarnate but killing something that has an appearance that’s close to a human, even if they are monsters, would still affect you.

The battle itself was surprisingly quick. The reason for that might be because of the differences in our physiques. There is a huge difference between our physical strength and reach. I guess from now on I should just think of this like I’m exterminating some kind of harmful animal.

「It’s almost noon so let’s go back」 「Really? I wonder if you can tell the time by how empty your stomach is?」

I didn’t bother explaining to her how I can tell the time by the position of the sun since I knew that she was making fun of me because she was grinning as she said that.

「So you guys defeated three goblins, huh… I guess that’s good enough. You should wash the blood off your weapons before having your meal」

After hearing that, we handed over the proof of subjugation to sensei. Then, we went to a place that’s a bit separated from the rest area to wash the blood off our weapons. I used water made from magic and wiped it dry with a rag cloth. Everyone else was starting to come back as I started to lay out my blanket on the gazebo. It seems like nobody got injured for now.

Suzuran firmly held on the promise I made this morning and has positioned herself next to me. She also snatched two pieces of my dried meat. I desperately defended the apples but I didn’t even have to worry about them. Suzuran, please make sure to eat your fruits and vegetables as well.

During our meal, I keep on hearing things like, “It was really amazing when Suzuran blew the goblin’s head off when she swung her spear horizontally, right-?” from behind us. There were a lot of parts where I wanted to retort but I just gave up since I’m tired. I also thought that a mace, war hammer or a war pick would have suited her better but I should also just give up on this.

After lunch, my group finished the subjugation without meeting any more goblins. It seems like all of the other groups also had less encounters in the afternoon. Since we couldn’t find any more monsters after sweeping the area in the afternoon, sensei decided that to end our training and we started to withdraw.

We were able to return without encountering a single goblin. It also seems like the rewards for today’s subjugation will go towards the school’s administrative expenses.

Don’t underestimate a shovel. You can use it as a blunt weapon or a blade, and the end you attack with in and of itself is relatively heavy. The MC is surrounded by… well I won’t say idiots, but… y’know. They don’t bother thinking. Thanks for the chapter!

Since that kind of sword and magic world dwell too much on war weapons such as sword, spear, mace, warhammer, shield and etc.. they don’t acknowledge much a shovel of what it can do. Presently in an undeveloped world they only think of it as farming tools like a hoe. They have no idea how a powerful shovel could be. It can dislodge a person armed with sword and even can hammer down a shield like a warhammer weapon. He’s an idiot if he retelling himself a Japanese person living peaceful is good enough in that world. Peace aren’t a… Read more »